The lens could not be wide enough.
Lining the waterfront were thousands of well-wishers. With so much
to do before the end of voyage, the crew was taken by surprise.

Thank you to everyone who showed
their support today in Hamburg, and an extra special thanks to all
those faithful followers who lived our adventure via the Internet.
You made it possible and offered us encouragement in the good times
and the bad.

STARSHIP crew.

Thursday 21st
June, 2001
Hamburg, GermanyWriter : James Frankham

It has been a long route home. Ever since
landing on European soil three months ago, there has been a rising
anticipation of arrival. The crew are weary, their senses sated. There has
been urgent consolidation of the digital fruit: Nearly 50,000 images have
been backed up and 400 hours of video tape bar-coded. The best pictures have
been included in a book of the voyage along with a CDROM. Footage has been
broadcast on television and the website will remain online as a worldwide
electronic resource.

The main engine rumbles reliably behind my cabin wall. Michael is at the
helm, navigating STARSHIP to a home port that she has never visited before.
I wonder how many times he has played this moment over and over in his mind
during the past three years. At times the project was demanding, and simply
arriving would have been a daunting challenge. In other moments I’m sure he
resolved to stay at sea forever, content that he had found a place of
fascinating solitude.

Today it is the mixed emotions of arrival that play in his eyes, as it is
for anyone at the completion of a massive undertaking. Arrival is imminent,
the future uncertain, and the past holds a glorious mountain of experience,
too enormous to consolidate or comprehend in one moment. Maybe it’s like
losing an old friend.

We have covered 75,000 nautical miles through some of the most remote
locations on the planet, over vast oceans and rough weather. It is a journey
that has been shared electronically with millions via the Internet and the
emails of encouragement and support that flood in daily are a testament to
the impact it has had on your lives. These stories are particularly humbling
and satisfying for the crew.

It has been our brief to share the journey with you, something to which we
have dedicated ourselves with enthusiasm. To convey the complexity and
beauty of what we have seen in words and pictures has been an enormous
challenge that we have been honoured to accept. In every case, the
experiences have changed our lives and it will be an enlightened crew that
step onto the dock in a few hours.

Our escourt.[ photo - James Frankham ]

On the brink of arrival, emotions charged and minds focused, I asked the
crew to write down what the voyage meant to them. Head-scratching and
soul-searching, they conveyed in the best words they could the texture of
their time aboard the good ship. Their words echo the emails sent by you,
our cybercrew, and the feelings shared by the journalists, scientists and
photographers who have contributed to the project.

It's been a long road for Corinne and I. The transition from large
commercial vessels to motor yachts has not been as easy as we thought it
would be. Michael has been patient (mostly) with us and has given us a few
pointers here and there to help us along. STARSHIP is probably the hardest
working motor yacht in the world and the distance she has covered has shown
itself in many areas, but in particular, the machinery. Thanks to Corinne
the vessel has completed the voyage virtually unscathed, and with the same
kind of care STARSHIP could probably do it all again.

Although we have circumnavigated many times, STARSHIP has given us the
opportunity to see the world differently. Previously we had seen some of the
finest oil refineries and container terminals in the world, but now, thanks
to Michael, we have seen some "wild" wildlife. The chimpanzees, baboons and
hippos of the Gambia River will stay with us for as long as we live. The
sights, sounds and smells of Mercury Island too. Some of the people have
been very special, in particular Louis and Christa Reichert of Walvis Bay
and Sue Daley from Jersey whose hospitality was second to none.

STARSHIP has also given us the chance to work side by side with each other
and get to know each other even better. We are now both 110% sure that our
wedding on 31st August will be a life long commitment to one another. After
the celebrations in Hamburg are over, our leave period will be spent
preparing for our wedding.

Thanks to Michael for giving us this opportunity and start in the yachting
"industry" and we hope that our next vessel will be as interesting as
STARSHIP. Somehow I don't think that is going to be possible. The crew of
STARSHIP is going to take some beating too and we will miss these guys the
most.

I think back over the experiences of my time aboard STARSHIP; the close
encounters with wildlife, awe-inspiring landscapes and moments of humbling
contact with indigenous peoples. Living in the intimate company of crew
members, also representing many cultures and professional backgrounds, was a
fascinating experience in knowledge-sharing and community-living that
enriched us all.

It was in this way that 6 months became 12 months, and I find myself
stepping onto a dock in Hamburg after a year and a half on the ship. Working
hard, far from the familiarities of family and friends, in strange
countries, on a frequently inhospitable sea was at times demanding, but what
I have seen will leave an indelible impression and many stories to recount
with enthusiasm.

The opportunity to film some of the most remarkable and beautiful things
this world has to offer, and to share the experiences electronically with
those that may never have the chance, was the most satisfying aspect. For
the first time I appreciate the wonder and fragility of this planet, and the
desperate necessity to preserve the biodiversity that exists both above and
below the water.

It is with enormous gratitude, sadness and relief that I disembark STARSHIP
and set sail for familiar shores never forgetting the months I spent aboard.

Last night I came back on board STARSHIP for the last day of it's journey.
Immediately a thousand memories came back to me. A funny feeling in my
stomach went together with a permanent smile. After I had said hello to
these days crew I grabbed some videotapes and went through some looking for
the good old days. Beautiful people I saw - in the weirdest places of the
world, old friends saved on digital videotape. A kind of longing for the
Pacific came back to me. A thousand moments in which I have just been part
of the universe ran down my back like a gentle shower and my brain started
to show it's own movies. Tonight STARSHIP's journey will be over and I will
leave the ship with a bright smile, taking my memories with me. Thanks
Michael, Rudolf (Rudi - proud member of STARSHIP)

I guess Michael and I will be the only ones that will be really at home
today when we arrive at Hamburg. I was on board STARSHIP for the last bit
from Cape Town to Germany. I traveled all the way up the African coast and
experienced so much. I met people who taught me to see the world differently
and I realized that you do not need any language for a smile. Being back in
Europe I realized you need to speak a language and just a smile does not
help very often. Maybe we people in the first world are so spoilt by
everything that we do not see how easy a smile is. And this is what I will
do all day today - smile at the people and friends awaiting us in Hamburg
and smile at my crew members who I would like to thank for dealing with a
German freak and who were a pleasure to live with. Sharing a place with
people you have never met before can be sometimes very difficult but I must
say I was very lucky and will always think back in the best memories to my
crew members and Michael, who initiated this wonderful project, enabling
everybody to see the world. THANKS.

Not many have the opportunity to have such an experience and I am thankful
for every second that I could be part of the voyage. I once more have
learned that we have to care for the Earth more consciously and carefully.
Living together at a small place under not always easy circumstances and
meeting different cultures should not be a problem nowadays, as long as we
treat people equally and with the same respect we would expect. I think
STARSHIP is a good example of this.

When I was asked to write my reminiscences of STARSHIP it came at a very
opportune moment, the day before my 36 birthday. Any STARSHIP addict may
remember that I joined STARSHIP on 17 May 1999, just 2 days before my 34
birthday, so it was easy for me to think back and make a start writing. I
flew out to French Guiana to join STARSHIP and my first journal dealt mainly
with my renewed impressions of the tropics. I remember driving through the
dark, hot and muggy streets in a battered old taxi to the docks, where I got
my first view of STARSHIP. At times like this it’s best to be honest; I
remember thinking “Oh my god … that’s a pretty small ship, don’t tell me I’m
going to cross the great wide expanse of the Pacific in that!!” Little did I
know how quickly STARSHIP would become my home, my comfort and my sense of
security, nor how quickly I would come to think of it as very big ship in
comparison to the others we saw along the way.

It is always hard to pick out significant moments from months of adventure
and excitement, but primarily I am glad that I had the chance to join
STARSHIP for the Pacific leg. This meant that I had had the thrill of going
through the Panama Canal, the joy of visiting Galapagos and the ultimate
pride that anyone feels at having crossed the largest ocean in the world.
These are all milestones for me. The latter two more so. As a scientist it
has always been my dream to visit Galapagos, which is a ‘World Heritage
Site’ with good reason and through STARSHIP I was able to see these
wonderful islands in an incredibly intimate way that one could never achieve
as a tourist. I will always be eternally grateful for that. Secondly, I am
no sailor, as any readers of the journal will know, but through STARSHIP I
have able to achieve an ambition that many sailors set for themselves, but
are never able to achieve. Even now I get out the atlas and look at that
wide expanse of water and think to myself ‘Yes, you have crossed that, and
come home safely’ that’s a very big thrill, and it gives one a great sense
of achievement. On an atlas I can span the Pacific with my hand, yet it
represents 6 months of my life.

For me, the wonderful thing about taking part in the STARSHIP voyage was
that, for the first time, it made science and the social aspects of the
countries we visited available to the general public. The science was
presented in such a way that anyone could understand it and it was always
relevant because it came together with our daily adventures and encounters.
Also I think equally importantly STARSHIP made this available on a daily
basis, such that it became very important to people, like a hobby. It became
a big part of some people’s lives, to log on everyday and find out where
STARSHIP was and what we were doing. In this I think that the project
achieved its main aim, which was to take people - many people - on a
scientific, anthropological and adventurous journey around the world and
it’s because this was so successful that I am so proud to have taken part in
it.

When I first realized that I was going on the STARSHIP I thought that it was
just a very cool way of spending six months, it later turned out to be
eleven. Boarding the boat in the Philippines I was full of excitement but
also a little bit nervous what it was going to be like out there on the big
open oceans and what was even more uncertain, how it was to cook when the
sea was rough.

It’s now looking back on all the events and adventures we encountered along
the way that you start to reflect and sort of downloading the experiences
into another part of your memory. These are the really important impressions
that could completely change your way of life. You also realize that there
where more that waited you then just a cool way of traveling through the
world.

What really struck me as being the highlight of my journey on the STARSHIP
is how easy it is to make contact with people around the world despite
lacking of a mutual language or in some cases even mutual body expressions.
What also got my attention was that it’s easier to communicate now days with
a fisherman on a remote island in Indonesia than it is to get your cabdriver
in for instance Spain to understand where you want him to go. I mean the
people in non-European, or more so Western, countries really try to
understand you while us Europeans have become a little bit to expedient to
go that extra part of the way. Of course I generalize a lot now but it sure
has been something that we noticed.

I have only been a STARSHIP trooper for the last two months, comparatively a
small moment in the entire 36 month long adventure around the world. For me
the most valuable part of this time on STARSHIP has been crew life - 24
hours a day living and working (almost 24 hours) alongside the same people.
Hard to now imagine that I stepped on board only 8 weeks ago and these guys
were total strangers. The confines and restrictions of living on a 75 foot
boat ensures you get to know one another better and faster than you might
under "normal" circumstances. I’m very glad for this "abnormal" experience
though! After 15 nomadic months, never staying any one place for long and
only making transitory fellow backpacking friends it has been valuable to
have had this temporary STARSHIP ‘home’ and family, even if my cabin is
little more than a shelf. I guess it also needs to be mentioned that I
believe you can overcome seasickness, proud am I to hold the Millennium
Voyage record for hurling 8 times in the first hour of watch but I think I
have now have found my sea legs and am convinced that I will never repeat
such a grand performance!

Surrounded by thousands.[ photo - James Frankham ]

At precisely 1830 hours European Daylight Time, STARSHIP will dock outside
the Gruner + Jahr Building in Hamburg, Germany. More than 300 invited guests
and an unknown number of citizens await our arrival. Butterflies spin in our
stomachs. Two television crews with cameras and lights conduct last-minute
interviews and encourage us to sum up the intense experiences of many months
in a couple of succinct sentences. Flash-bulbs fire and we shuffle our feet
nervously.

As the media hype gathers around us and excitement builds we feel a
responsibility to reiterate our deepest convictions, that story which we
have dedicated three years to tell:

Nature is overwhelming. From the largest mammal to the tiniest microbe, it
is a system so magnificent that one can respond only with utter wonderment.

Think of the Earth as an immensely beautiful and complex living organism. An
infinite set of carefully equilibrated variables maintain life. Through
arrogance and ignorance, Homo sapiens are dismantling the system to make
room for individual ambition, unaware that the actions of one are mirrored
by many. The destruction is violent and extensive, the situation is
critical. Already damage has been caused that can never be repaired.

Find a recognised organisation (such as the WWF, Nature Conservancy or the
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) involved in lobbying for the protection
of the environment and restoring ecology at a grass-roots level. Support it.

From a crew who have seen the best and worst of the world, through a
plethora of electronics to you, who have shared it with us; this will be
STARSHIP standing by,